Archive 2: 2017
450: Amazon Analytics and Amazon Optimization: Do E-Commerce Right, Run Your Business on Systems, and Make Data-Driven Decisions with Reed Menssa
Reed Menssa from Advanced Amazon Consulting is a successful Amazon and online physical products seller who has developed many software tools and systems to help other Amazon sellers succeed. Reed's AZoptimizer and AZanalyzer software has produced profitable results for every type of seller and can be used for any skill level. He is an expert in his field and loves to share his knowledge and experience with others to help them succeed. Reed's software and consulting businesses help increase profits substantially for thousands of online sellers, every year.
Quotes:
“Data really drives this industry a lot. You should never be guessing, because that leads to uncomfortable situations where you have to then go back and try and figure those issues out.” – Reed Menssa
“I like to own my own thing. I like to be able to run it the way I want to run it, and I like not having to rely on someone else's good graces.” – Reed Menssa
“A lot of people have great ideas, but they don't know if it's actually going to sell or not, because they don't know where to look.” – Reed Menssa
Takeaways:
02:14 Accurate data is the backbone of successful Amazon selling, eliminating guesswork and reducing potential business risks.
12:13 Comprehensive product research means analyzing entire keyword pages, not just individual competitors, to understand market dynamics.
17:20 Using precise tracking methods like the 999 trick can provide real sales numbers, moving beyond unreliable best seller ranking estimates.
21:38 Amazon product indexing is critical - if you're not indexed for specific search terms, your product won't appear in relevant searches.
22:23 Successful business growth requires systematic approaches and informed decision-making, not random experimentation.
Visit AZAnalyzer to Claim Your Free Trial, Differentiation Worksheet & 30-Minute Skype Call
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449: Create Passive Income Membership Sites for Your Online Business
Quotes:
“If someone joins a course but doesn't log in and use it, and you don't give them a reason to and they're not motivated, they're not going to use your stuff.” – Robert Plank
“Find the overlap between what people are asking for and paying money for, and something you can deliver in a step-by-step, solvable, and complete format.” – Robert Plank
“Big dreams and goals are wonderful, but what's more important is hitting achievable milestones so you know your membership site is headed in the right direction.” – Robert Plank
Takeaways:
04:40 Creating a membership site isn't about complex packages or endless tips, but solving a specific problem people will pay to fix.
07:22 Design your membership site modules to give members a quick win in the first session, with clear, actionable results they can implement immediately.
12:15 Don't let technical details or perfect setup prevent you from launching your membership site - start simple and improve as you go.
16:30 Build your membership sites one at a time, focusing on making money with each project before expanding to multiple sites.
19:20 Your online business becomes more exciting and sustainable when you create sites that generate real income and provide genuine value.
Listen in to our episode to discover what you need to know about creating your membership site, keeping it simple and profitable. While you're listing, please check out this post on LinkedIn to leave a quick comment.
Leave a Like and Comment on LinkedIn
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448: Stop Being the Bottleneck, Change Your Habits, Escape Scarcity Thinking and Amplify Your Success with Melanie Benson
Melanie Benson from Rapid Cash Strategies is a Profit Amplifier, and has a gift for guiding fast-paced, mission-driven entrepreneurs to thrive in their small business. Melanie can quickly identify what derails you from productivity and progress – ultimately freeing you to scale your influence and income without overwhelm.
Melanie hosts the weekly podcast, Amplify Your Success, is author of Rewired for Wealth, coauthor of Entrepreneur.com's Start Up Guide to Starting an Information Marketing Business and has her success tips featured in magazines such as American Express OPEN Forum, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Woman's Day, Parenting Magazine, and University of Phoenix Alumni Magazine.
She is on the Executive Team for the Women Speaker's Association as well as is Council Chair for the Association of Transformational Leaders.
Quotes:
“The thought ‘I can't afford it’ is probably the single biggest bottleneck that exists. What we're doing is telling our mind that we can't. When we lead with ‘I can't afford it,’ it literally shuts our problem-solving brain down.” – Melanie Benson
“Success and comfort don't always hold hands. We have to be willing to step out on that ledge and not know how to do something in order to achieve things we've never achieved before.” – Melanie Benson
“Just because you don't know how to do something doesn't mean you shouldn't go for it.” – Melanie Benson
Takeaways:
04:50 Your mindset is the primary driver of business success, acting like a water hose that can either trickle or flow with opportunities.
11:34 Making a bold decision without knowing the entire path is more powerful than staying stuck in fear and uncertainty.
16:24 Avoiding failure can actually cause you to repeat failures by keeping you trapped in scarcity thinking instead of success energy.
20:41 Identifying your high-payoff business activity is crucial for quickly moving the income needle forward.
24:24 Building a team is essential for business growth, as you'll eventually hit a point where you cannot expand if you're working alone.
Claim Your Checklist: 10 Rapid Cash Strategies to Create a Quick Cash Infusion for Your Small Business
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447: Level Up By Being a Direct Sales Troubleshooter, Amplify Your Strengths, and Scale Your Business Using the Five Sales Steps with Nathan Walker
Nathan Walker is a self-made millionaire, entrepreneur, direct sales expert, and business owner. With over 15 years of direct sales experience and business building he's changed the lives of many with his ability to 'Level Up' your life; regardless the industry!
Nathan is professionally affiliated with Brad Lea, Grant Cardone, Henry Kaminski, Akbar Sheik, and Arne Giske. He currently trains and educates sales teams within is businesses on a regular basis via calls, webinars, zoom, and live events. If Nathan is all about one thing, it’s this – Direct Sales! At the young age of 33, he’s built a few multi-million dollar companies all based around one thing, selling; more specifically selling in the home!
Along with that, he has several success stories under his belt. Success stories like Corey who was making $8.00 an hour at a Weber grill factory, and will now make over $200k this year alone. This is all due to Nathan’s sales process, and training. Stories like that is Nathan’s real passion in life.
Quotes:
“You've got to sell people on what they care about, not what you care about.” – Nathan Walker
“If they don't like me, don't trust me, or don't respect me, they're not going to do business with me. I could have the best product in the world, but if I don't like you—or if there's something missing—I'm probably not going to do business with you.” – Nathan Walker
“There's a lot of money going around in this world. There's a lot of opportunity in this world, and you get one shot. Your days are numbered, whether we want to admit it or not.” – Nathan Walker
Takeaways:
05:04 Focus on solving real customer problems they actually care about, not just pushing your product features.
11:20 Build sales teams around individual strengths instead of trying to make everyone a well-rounded performer.
20:24 Ask targeted questions to understand what specific problems matter most to the customer before presenting solutions.
25:02 Create a clear, step-by-step sales process that guides customers logically from initial contact to final purchase.
30:48 Maximize your potential and opportunities because life is short and you only get one chance to go all out.
Resources
- Nathan Walker (Official Site)
- Nathan Walker (Facebook)
- Level Up Podcast (Podcast)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 32:06 — 29.4MB) | Embed
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446: Attend the Right Networking Events, Lay the Groundwork for Better Joint Ventures, Land Clients, Become a Connector, and Follow Up with Lori Saitz
Lori Saitz from ZenRabbit started life as an extremely shy child. Her report cards regularly included, “Lori is very bright but she needs to learn how to speak up in class.” - Lori Saitz (pronounced Sites) has become a nationally recognized marketing expert, master networker and relationship-builder.
In 2003, she launched Zen Rabbit Baking Company and introduced the world to The Gratitude Cookie. In order to build that company, she had to overcome her hesitancy to talk to strangers, and learn how to network effectively to find clients and referral sources. Today, as a networking strategy coach and speaker, she works with quiet people on getting past the fear of networking, managing their energy, and feeling more comfortable connecting, so they can find success.
Her services are in demand by consultants, entrepreneurs, business owners, and business professionals who need to figure out which networking events are worth going to so they’re not wasting hundreds of dollars; what to say once they’re there so they don’t look foolish; and how to follow up afterward so their efforts aren’t wasted.
Quotes:
“We're naturally attuned to storytelling. Storytelling goes back centuries in human history. The storytelling part really cements and makes you more memorable.” – Lori Saitz
“Follow-up is the most important part. Where most people fall down is in the follow-up, because we all have the best of intentions.” – Lori Saitz
“If you can take control and make it more interesting by asking better questions of your conversational partners, it becomes easier and more enjoyable.” – Lori Saitz
Takeaways:
05:50 Strategic networking means choosing events with the right people, not attending every possible gathering.
06:32 Managing personal energy is crucial when attending networking events, especially for introverted professionals.
10:28 Preparing a clear, concise answer to "What do you do?" helps quiet professionals feel more confident and memorable.
17:01 Asking thoughtful, interesting questions transforms surface-level conversations into meaningful professional interactions.
25:36 Follow-up is the most critical part of networking, and setting specific calendar time for post-event communication ensures connections aren't lost.
Resources
- Zen Rabbit: Networking Strategies for Quiet People (Website)
- Lori Saitz (LinkedIn)
- Lori Saitz (Twitter)
- Highrise HQ (Client Relationship Management tool)
- Insightly (Site)
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445: Online Entrepreneurs: Re-Frame Your Struggles, Stress & Failures of the Past to Create Everything You Want in the Present
Let's talk for a second about past failures, stress, and how to use the mistake of the past to get the future you want, as you listen in today's episode.
Quotes:
“Far too many people wait until it's too late to take any sort of action, and then they wish they had taken that action one to ten years ago.” – Robert Plank
“Many struggling internet marketers are currently having trouble with being spread too thin—too many projects, no deadlines, no sense of urgency, and no focus.” – Robert Plank
“Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.” – Robert Plank
Takeaways:
00:45 Your current struggles and frustrations will become fond memories when viewed from a future perspective.
01:30 Taking calculated risks is more valuable than playing it safe and never attempting anything meaningful.
02:15 Most people underestimate what they can accomplish in a decade by being too cautious in the short term.
02:45 Simple online business success requires focusing on three core elements: lead capture, offers, and traffic.
03:20 Half-done projects and scattered efforts prevent entrepreneurs from creating a functional online business.
Leave Us a Quick Like & Comment on LinkedIn
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444: Just Do One Push-Up: Get Yourself Out There and Stream Live on Facebook
Have you heard that you "need to take massive action" but you don't quite know how to get started? Do you find yourself overwhelmed, sometimes backsliding or struggling to stay consistent? If so, this is the most important podcast you'll listen to today. Listen below and when you're done, leave us a quick like and a comment over on LinkedIn.
Quotes:
“A year from now, everything you're stressing about won't even matter.” – Robert Plank
“Stop being afraid of what could go wrong and start being positive about what could go right.” – Robert Plank
“Life is not fair, and you don't want it to be fair. Fair means average—one step below good, and even one step above poor.” – Robert Plank
Takeaways:
00:05 Small, consistent actions can transform your life, even if you start with just one push-up.
01:25 Fear and overthinking prevent most people from taking the first step towards their goals.
02:15 Success comes from being proactive and taking risks, not from waiting for perfect conditions.
03:45 Incremental improvement beats waiting for the perfect moment to start.
04:35 Envy and regret are poor substitutes for actual action and personal growth.
Visit the "One Push Up" Article on LinkedIn & Leave a Quick Comment
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443: Take More (Fast) Action, Follow-Through and Be Consistent Daily: How I Wrote a Book in a Day and Got Married in a Day
I got married today, Friday, November 17th, 2017. We hadn't planned it, just woke up and decided to knock it out today. I've also done the same thing with my business in several cases, most notably having an idea for a book in the morning and getting it published that afternoon. Listen to the story and if you'd like to leave a comment or "like", check out this post on LinkedIn.
Quotes:
“20 years from now, you'll be more disappointed about the things you didn't do than the things you did do.” – Robert Plank
“You should be committed to your outcome, but flexible in your results.” – Robert Plank
“Develop a habit of consistent completion, and you get instant gratification. You set yourself up for future patterns of turning ideas into reality.” – Robert Plank
Takeaways:
04:40 Fast action and consistent daily effort can transform your biggest dreams into immediate reality.
07:15 Breaking complex goals into smaller, manageable steps reduces anxiety and increases the likelihood of success.
08:30 Don't let perfect details stop you from starting - the first step is more important than having every single thing planned out.
09:20 Setting SMART goals with specific timelines helps you move from idea to execution quickly.
10:10 Developing a habit of instant completion creates powerful patterns of turning thoughts into tangible results.
Visit This Article on LinkedIn to Leave a Quick Comment
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442: Masterminds: The Secret Shortcut to Success, Focus, Clarity, Speed, and Action with Charlene Burke
Charlene Burke says that you shouldn't go it alone when it comes to your online business, so she founded Search by Burke. Charlene believes that a mastermind group is "the secret shortcut to success" and is an information professional and mastermind group expert, with a background in marketing and engineering. She provides small and medium sized businesses with research that answers their questions about market opportunities, industry trends, and what's working for their competitors.
We discuss the importance of you joining a mastermind, types of masterminds to join, what to avoid when you join one, and how to get the most from them.
Quotes:
“A mastermind group is designed to help you navigate through challenges using the collective intelligence of others.” – Charlene Burke
“If you are the one who caused your problem, and you are the one who has decided to come up with the answer, you are using the same thoughts and brain that actually caused the problem.” – Charlene Burke
“You can't be a taker. You can't just sit in on a group to check it out.” – Charlene Burke
Takeaways:
01:50 Mastermind groups are powerful tools for solving business challenges through collective intelligence and peer support.
10:25 Successful mastermind participation requires giving as much value as you receive, not just taking advice.
21:56 A strong group leader is crucial for maintaining group health, resolving conflicts, and ensuring productive discussions.
23:03 Joining a mastermind can help introverted professionals improve communication skills and build confidence.
29:45 When selecting a mastermind group, ask detailed questions about group structure, expectations, and conflict resolution.
Resources
- Search By Burke (Website)
- Charlene Burke (LinkedIn)
- No More Sabotage: Developing Your Success Mindset (Book)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 35:05 — 32.1MB) | Embed
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441: Website Optimization, A/B Split Testing and Heatmaps: How to Double Your Customers, Sales and Profits with Conversion Fanatic Justin Christianson
Justin Christianson is the #1 bestselling author of Conversion Fanatic: How to Double Your Customers, Sales and Profits with A/B Testing.
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The book is based on years of experience running thousands of split tests on hundreds of campaigns and is the definitive guide to getting more out of your marketing efforts. It's designed to help you find and test breakthrough marketing ideas faster and more adeptly than your competition can keep up with, so you convert more website visitors into paying customers faster and at a lower cost than they can.
He's the co-founder and President of Conversion Fanatics, a full service Conversion rate optimization company, member of the Forbes Agency council as well as the host of the weekly marketing podcast, CMO Roundtable. We talk today about Justin and his team's strategy, process, and mindset when it comes to increasing conversions, improving the website visitor experience, decreasing ad costs, and skyrocketing clicks & sales.
Quotes:
“At the end of the day, it doesn't matter what you or I think of the website—it matters what the visitors think, because they're the ones who are your customers or potential customers.” – Justin Christianson
“The only way to really get and keep a competitive advantage is to constantly be testing to try to beat your high score.” – Justin Christianson
“Optimization never stops, because markets are constantly changing and evolving.” – Justin Christianson
Takeaways:
04:18 Always test website changes scientifically instead of making assumptions about what might improve conversions.
07:18 Companies need at least 30,000 monthly unique visitors to conduct meaningful A/B testing effectively.
12:09 Optimization is an ongoing process that requires constant analysis and adaptation to changing market conditions.
20:07 Focus on customer benefits rather than just listing product features when marketing.
27:04 Don't give up on testing and optimization efforts too quickly - patience and persistence are key to discovering significant improvements.
Resources
- Conversion Fanatics (Agency)
- Conversion Fanatic (Book)
- CMO Roundtable (Podcast)
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